Feral Jundi

Monday, December 10, 2018

Industry Talk: The UAE Hires Spear Operations Group For Work In Yemen

Filed under: Industry Talk,UAE,Yemen — Tags: , , , , — Matt @ 12:49 PM

This is a fascinating deal that came out while I was away. In October, Buzzfeed ran a story about Spear Operations Group LLC,  a company based out of Delaware that was hired by the UAE to perform special operations services in Yemen. Specifically to go after 23 high value targets and kill them. This is definitely some offense industry and I have written about this type of thing in the past.

They were paid $25,000 a month and given a bonus per individual they killed. How much per individual I do not know. This kind of thing is not new to warfare and the Flying Tigers are an example of a company paying a bonus or bounty for every Japanese plane they shot down.

Below I have posted my Facebook thread about the article and I recommend reading that, and here is a link to the article itself. Another excellent deal to check out is SOFREP’s interview they did with one of the contractors of this company. On a side note, the contractor also discussed the Erik Prince Plan and his thoughts about it.  

As to my personal input on the matter? This is the trend we are seeing in this industry. PMSC’s are being used more and more for the offense and not just for defense. Countries are using this industry as a tool to implement strategy or policy. Or they are using PMSC’s to provide a capability their military does not have. In this case, the UAE hired SOG LLC to perform a mission their Special Operations could not do. Based on the UAE’s history of outsourcing, I don’t think we will see the last of this kind of thing. –Matt

 

 

The men of Spear Operations Group LLC From Buzzfeed

 

Wednesday, November 25, 2015

UAE: The Australian In Charge Of The UAE Presidential Guard

Filed under: Australia,UAE,Yemen — Tags: , , , , — Matt @ 9:47 PM

I thought this was cool. Apparently Mike Hindmarsh has been an advisor/commanding general of the UAE’s Presidential Guard since 2009, which performs their special operations mission. Mike’s background is that he was SASR and Special Operations Commander of Australia. This guy is a stud, and the UAE pays handsomely for his services.

The Presidential Guard has been active in Afghanistan over the years, so they do have some combat experience. They have also done some good training with the US Marines. I also imagine that it was these folks that rescued British hostage Robert Semple in Yemen back in August.

Now here is a thought. Maybe Hindmarsh will be the guy commanding these Colombian forces deploying to Yemen?Matt

 

Commander of the UAE Presidential Guard, Mike Hindmarch, Delivers a Lecture at the National Defense College Entitled “Counterinsurgency Operations”.

United Arab Emirates poaches former major-general Mike Hindmarsh as security adviser
IAN MCPHEDRAN
DECEMBER 03, 2009
AUSTRALIA’S top special forces general has been poached by an Arab ruler to work as his national security guru.
Former major-general Mike Hindmarsh retired from his $230,000-a-year job last June after just months as head of the army’s Training Command after a 12-month stint as commander of the Middle East Area of Operations.
The ex-Special Operations Command and SAS chief has moved to Abu Dhabi to work as national security adviser to the United Arab Emirates.
His salary is unknown, but senior advisers in oil-rich states that are not burdened by democratic processes such as parliaments can earn more than $500,000-a-year tax free.
Mr Hindmarsh reports to Deputy Supreme Commander of the UAE Armed Forces Crown Prince General Sheik Mohammed bin Zayed Al Nahyan.
Senior sources said the top-secret appointment was made after months of negotiations and was cleared by defence chief Air Chief Marshal Angus Houston and the Federal Government. “This has been going on for 18 months,” one said.
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Yemen: UAE Deploys It’s Colombian Mercenaries To Yemen

Filed under: Industry Talk,UAE,Yemen — Tags: , , , , — Matt @ 1:11 PM

Very interesting news and I thought I would put this up on the blog incase someone has any other information to add to this news. I held off on talking about this when news of it first trickled out, all because I could not find any legitimate news group to confirm it. The New York Times was the group that originally broke the story about Reflex Responses and I put that up on the blog back in 2011. I haven’t heard much about it since.

I do know that the whole thing switched from a PMSC scheme with Reflex Responses as the recruiting company, to just a recruitment of Latin Americans directly to fight for the UAE armed forces. I talked about that transition here and here. It has been quite the drain on the Colombian market of force. Those guys must have been pretty bored all of these years.

Now that the UAE actually has a war to fight in Yemen, and they have lost a few of their own in that war, I am sure the idea of using more foreign troops to do that job will be more appealing to the locals of the UAE. The houthis and Saleh’s guys are definitely giving them a fight, and even launching ballistic missiles.

Back to the deployment of mercenaries in Yemen. What is interesting is that there is some history of mercenaries being used in that part of the world. Former SAS guys were recruited to fight there back in the sixties and did quite well. I imagine the current coalition will use these Colombian/Latin forces for basic infantry tasks, like guarding facilities or light patrolling. We will see how far they will go in their usage. Here is a quote about the make up of this force and what they are getting paid.

The Emiratis have spent the equivalent of millions of dollars equipping the unit, from firearms and armored vehicles to communications systems and night vision technology. But Emirati leaders rarely visit the camp. When they do, the troops put on tactical demonstrations, including rappelling from helicopters and driving armored dune buggies.
And yet they stay largely because of the money, receiving salaries ranging from $2,000 to $3,000 a month, compared with approximately $400 a month they would make in Colombia. Those troops who deploy to Yemen will receive an additional $1,000 per week, according to a person involved in the project and a former senior Colombian military officer.
Hundreds of Colombian troops have been trained in the Emirates since the project began in 2010 — so many that the Colombian government once tried to broker an agreement with Emirati officials to stanch the flow headed to the Persian Gulf. Representatives from the two governments met, but an agreement was never signed.
Most of the recruiting of former troops in Colombia is done by Global Enterprises, a Colombian company run by a former special operations commander named Oscar Garcia Batte. Mr. Batte is also co-commander of the brigade of Colombian troops in the Emirates, and is part of the force now deployed in Yemen.

I could not find Oscar’s company online and if anyone has a link, I will update it here. I did find him on Linkedin, but no mention of Global Enterprises. Interesting stuff and we will see how it goes for them. I imagine we will see more of this kind of thing amongst the wealthy gulf nations. ISIS and Al Qaeda are both expanding and morphing into hybrid terrorist armies, and Iran continues to meddle and cause trouble. The middle east will continue to require manpower for it’s wars and security, and private industry will certainly answer the call. –Matt

 

Emirates Secretly Sends Colombian Mercenaries to Fight in Yemen
By EMILY B. HAGER and MARK MAZZETTI
NOV. 25, 2015
The United Arab Emirates has secretly dispatched hundreds of Colombian mercenaries to Yemen to fight in that country’s raging conflict, adding a volatile new element in a complex proxy war that has drawn in the United States and Iran.
It is the first combat deployment for a foreign army that the Emirates has quietly built in the desert over the past five years, according to several people currently or formerly involved with the project. The program was once managed by a private company connected to Erik Prince, the founder of Blackwater Worldwide, but the people involved in the effort said that his role ended several years ago and that it has since been run by the Emirati military.
The arrival in Yemen of 450 Latin American troops — among them are also Panamanian, Salvadoran and Chilean soldiers — adds to the chaotic stew of government armies, armed tribes, terrorist networks and Yemeni militias currently at war in the country. Earlier this year, a coalition of countries led by Saudi Arabia, including the United States, began a military campaign in Yemen against Houthi rebels who have pushed the Yemeni government out of the capital, Sana.
It is also a glimpse into the future of war. Wealthy Arab nations, particularly Saudi Arabia, Qatar and the Emirates, have in recent years embraced a more aggressive military strategy throughout the Middle East, trying to rein in the chaos unleashed by the Arab revolutions that began in late 2010. But these countries wade into the new conflicts — whether in Yemen, Syria or Libya — with militaries that are unused to sustained warfare and populations with generally little interest in military service.

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Friday, September 30, 2011

Al Qaeda: Anwar al-Aulaqi and Samir Khan Are Killed in Yemen!

Filed under: Al Qaeda,Yemen — Tags: , , , , — Matt @ 11:38 AM

This is fantastic news! Both of these guys have been high on the most wanted list for awhile, and they were crucial to the propaganda arm of Al Qaeda. They are also American born, which makes their deaths even better. Nothing makes me happier than to see traitors of this country get their just deserve in the form of a hellfire missile. Death to Al Qaeda!!! –Matt

Edit: 10/01/2011- It sounds like there was a third AQ individual killed in this strike, and he is a top target as well. His name is Ibrahim al-Asiri, and he is a top bomb maker responsible for the manufacture of the underwear bomb and the printer bomb used in operations. Outstanding.

Edit: 10/02/2011- On the other hand, it sounds like al-Asiri was not killed. lol

 

Anwar al-Aulaqi and Samir Khan.

 

Anwar al-Aulaqi, U.S.-born cleric linked to al-Qaeda, reported killed in Yemen
By Sudarsan Raghavan
September 30, 2011
Anwar al-Aulaqi, a radical U.S.-born Muslim cleric and one of the most influential al-Qaeda leaders wanted by the United States, was killed Friday in a U.S. drone strike in northern Yemen, Yemeni and American authorities said, eliminating a prominent terrorist recruiter who inspired attacks on U.S. soil.
The strike also killed a second U.S. citizen — Samir Khan, the co-editor of an al-Qaeda magazine — and two other unidentified al-Qaeda operatives, the Yemeni government said. But tribal leaders in the area said at least seven people were killed. They identified one of the others as al-Qaeda militant named Salem bin Arfaaj.
In Washington, senior Obama administration officials confirmed that Aulaqi, 40, a dual national of the United States and Yemen, and Khan were killed in a drone strike on their convoy.
President Obama called Aulaqi’s death “a major blow to al-Qaeda’s most active operational affiliate” and described him as “the leader of external operations for al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula,” a group known as AQAP.
“In that role, he took the lead in planning and directing efforts to murder innocent Americans,” Obama said at a ceremony honoring the outgoing chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff at Fort Myer, Va.
Khan, a member of AQAP, co-edited the group’s slick English-language Internet magazine, Inspire, which was intended to recruit Westerners to al-Qaeda’s fold. Aulaqi was also believed to have played a role in creating the online-only magazine, whose first issue in July 2010 included an article titled “Making a bomb in the kitchen of your mom.” Khan, a Saudi-born U.S. citizen raised in Queens, N.Y., and Charlotte, traveled to Yemen to join AQAP and likely operated under Aulaqi’s direction, terrorism experts have said.
Mohammed al-Basha, a Yemeni government spokesman, said in an e-mail that Yemeni intelligence had pinpointed Aulaqi’s hideout and monitored his movements before the airstrike.

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Monday, July 18, 2011

Al Qaeda: Closer Ties Between Somali And Yemeni Jihadists Threatens Oil Through Gulf Of Aden

Well this was a no brainer, but at least folks are talking about it now. So if Yemeni and Somali jihadists are working together, and Al Shabab is taking a 20 percent cut in piracy ransoms, then I wonder what the Yemeni cuts are? I mean that is a lot of shoreline now that a pirate could call home, if they were backed by the jihadists. If they did not have the support of the jihadists, then I would imagine they would come up against some problems.

The other way to look at this deal is the drug trade in Latin America. If you are a drug dealer in Central or South America, do you think you can set up your own shop and not get hassled by any of the large cartels? Of course not. If you did not cut them in, they would kill you. Or they would kill your family, and then tell you to sell more drugs for them! lol

So if Al Qaeda moves to control this corridor called the Gulf of Aden, then why wouldn’t they want to control these pirates? They could make money off of operations and they would disrupt western and middle eastern interest (oil flow, commerce). Jihadist privateering is a logical conclusion.

Now on to solutions, besides just putting armed guards on boats or squaring away those countries on land. I personally like the Q-ship idea. It is the ultimate zheng and qi strategy, and it would be one that pirates would have a very difficult time countering. The basic scheme is that you use a tanker or whatever boat as bait, and make it look like an unarmed vessel. You could even make it look like it is in distress. Then if it attracts a pirate crew and they go into attack mode and show their guns, an anti-piracy force outflanks that pirate crew and takes them down. You would have a force on the ship open up with the big guns, and a force on water that could attack. Whatever a team wants to use to get the job done. The cool thing is that there is no terrain for a pirate to hide behind, and you actually want the pirates to attack.

This idea though, would need a license by whatever country the vessel is flagged under, and there must be rules identified for killing and capturing pirates. There must be incentive as well, because if you want everyone to get involved with destroying piracy, you need to make it a venture or offense industry that ships would want to get involved with. Ideally, you would also want to capture the pirates and collect information from those detainees so networks can be studied and dismantled. So there must be a mechanism that supports the legal capture of pirates, if possible. Especially if an anti-piracy team wounds some pirates and those poor fools are in a sinking vessel. Do we let them die, or do we have a responsibility to capture them and care for them until those individuals are delivered to a detention center.

I believe all of these details could be hashed out in a Letter of Marque, much like they were in the past. As it stands now, we have armed security teams on boats that are great at repelling the assault, but they have no authorization from anyone to capture/detain or even care for wounded pirates?  What sense does it make to have shoot out’s with these guys, but have no means of legally detaining them and taking that pirate crew out of the system?

Now of course this tactic would have multiple legal issues to overcome before it would ever be considered. But honestly, something has to be done because the problem is only getting bigger and it is morphing into an animal that is certainly a threat to the global economies and innocent people. I also fear the day that pirates decide to capture a vessel and outright hand it over to Al Qaeda. Something like ramming a natural gas tanker into a heavily populated port or sinking the thing in gut of the Straits of Hormuz is a frightening thought. Believe me, if you can think it up, the other side has probably thought of it too.-Matt

Closer ties between Somali and Yemeni jihadists threatens oil through Aden Gulf
Monday, 18 July 2011
By JAMES M. DORSEY
Affiliates of Al Qaeda operating on opposite shores of key oil-export routes through the Gulf of Aden have forged closer ties in what could emerge as a substantial threat by a group that has been dealt severe body blows by the Arab revolt sweeping the Middle East and North Africa and the killing in May of Osama Bin Laden by US Navy Seals. ?The closer ties between Yemen-based Al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula (AQAP) and Al Shabaab in war-shattered Somalia is sparking concern among intelligence and counter-terrorism officials who suggest that AQAP may be the driving force behind closer cooperation between the two groups.

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